P-51 riveting

• Oct 19, 2025

• #1

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TPiotr

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Sep 3, 2024

Hello everyone.
Few words to begin. As side project for next few decades i am trying to make CAD model of P-51B as close to original as possible. At this point i am modeling engine section, and have starded to find some issuses from enginering poiny of view.


As you can see to assebly those two parts are used AN426AD4 rivets (head height 0.042 in.) and used sheet have 0.032 tickness and it should thave countersink holes for rivets. In now a days standards if we use countesunk holes in sheet, it should be ticker than rivet head. Same issue is in all carb air duct parts. Does during WW2 enginers didnt see issue in such approach, or becouse there are also spot welds, it can be done such way?

 

Last edited: Oct 19, 2025

• Oct 19, 2025

• #2

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cvairwerks

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What's the full print number? Sometimes there is pertinent data located elsewhere on the print.

 

• Oct 19, 2025

• Thread starter
• #3

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TPiotr

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Sep 3, 2024

102-42059, it is part of 102-31909 assembly. You can aslo check 104-42058 upper section 5.

 

• Oct 19, 2025

• #4

Sabrejet

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Apr 5, 2023

32 thou is circa 21 SWG and I'd suggest that material that thin would be on the cusp of being dimpled as standard. You'd certainly do it with 22 SWG. So I suspect there's a NOTE elsewhere on the sheet.

 

• Oct 19, 2025

• #5

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cvairwerks

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Looking at the print and knowing how things go together in production, I suspect that when it's set up for drilling, the operation sheet call out to c'sink while the two pieces are cleco'd together, and it's using the small amount of c'sink that drops into the -5 as additional locating for the part during riveting. In this instance, this is one part of the assembly that the riveting is simply to hold the two parts in correct location for spot riveting and are not structural.

BTW...there are three versions of that drawing, depending on the effectivity of model being built. Structurally they are the same, only small fabrication details are different from what I noticed.

 

• Oct 19, 2025

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• #6

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TPiotr

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Sep 3, 2024

The plan is to recreate airframe of P-51B-10-NA with serial numbers 43-7113 to 43-7202. Unfortunately can't find exact date when those aircraft were produced.

 

• Oct 19, 2025

• #7

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cvairwerks

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TPiotr said:

The plan is to recreate airframe of P-51B-10-NA with serial numbers 43-7113 to 43-7202. Unfortunately can't find exact date when those aircraft were produced.

Click to expand...

Look at the effectivity block and it will show the s/n break in for the particular models.

 

• Oct 19, 2025

• #8

MiTasol

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Sep 19, 2012

Aw flaming stralia

Note that there are only 4 rivets so they are there to lock the parts in place before spot welding. As such they are not structural but purely locating rivets.

 

• Oct 23, 2025

• #9

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chuckc

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Jan 28, 2016

cvairwerks said:

Look at the effectivity block and it will show the s/n break in for the particular models.

Click to expand...

According to the IARC for 43-7113, it was accepted on 12-6-1943, so it was probably completed during the preceding few days

 

• Oct 23, 2025

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• #10

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TPiotr

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Sep 3, 2024

chuckc said:

According to the IARC for 43-7113, it was accepted on 12-6-1943, so it was probably completed during the preceding few days

Click to expand...

Thank you for the information, fortunately to have already modeled parts up to date I have only to do a small correction in the propeller spinner.